ENGI Advising Booklet 2017-2018

68 Pages·2017·1.87 MB·English

ADVISING
BOOK LET
FALL 2017
GEORGE R. BROWN
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

UNDERGRADUATE
ADVISING
FALL 2017
This advising booklet provides only
the first step toward the design of
your Rice education. Your divisional
adviser is a crucial ally who will help
tailor a plan of study that best fits
your inclinations and aspirations.
Student-faculty interaction is a trademark of Rice
education. Consult regularly with your divisional
adviser, one of the many faculty members waiting
to work with you in the coming years.

CONTENTS
2 Introduction to School Of Engineering
4 Description of Majors
8 Description of Minors
10 Bioengineering
14 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
20 Civil and Environmental Engineering
28 Computational and Applied Mathematics
32 Computer Science
38 Electrical and Computer Engineering
44 Materials Science and NanoEngineering
50 Mechanical Engineering
56 Statistics
60 Major Advisers
61 Divisional Advisers
62 Requirements for Bachelor’s Degrees
This booklet is intended to give you, as a freshman engineering student, an
overview of the undergraduate degree programs in the School of Engineering.
It includes some general advice and contact information along with degree
summaries and sample degree plans for each engineering degree.
The degree summaries and sample plans will help you compare majors and
provide a starting point for mapping out your own course schedule. The
booklet is intended as a supplement to, not a replacement for, other depart-
ment advising materials. Although we have worked hard to make this booklet
as accurate as possible, the information in the General Announcements is
the fnal authority on degree requirements and academic regulations at Rice.
Two Kinds of Faculty Academic Advising
Every incoming engineering student is assigned an engineering divisional adviser—a
faculty member from the School of Engineering who is associated with your residen-
tial college and who provides academic advising to students considering engineering
majors. You should consult with your divisional adviser prior to registering for classes
each semester. You may also consult with major advisers before declaring a major.
See page 60 for a complete list of advisers.
When you declare your major, the department will assign you to an academic adviser
within the department. Your departmental adviser will help you decide what courses
you will take to satisfy your degree requirements and when you should take them.
The School of Engineering strongly encourages students planning engineering majors to
declare their majors in the spring semester of their freshman year before registering for
the sophomore year. Declaring a major in the freshman year should not discourage you
from continuing to discuss degree plans with as many advisers as you wish (divisional
or departmental, inside or outside of Engineering). Many students are looking at more
than one feld in their freshman year. However, if you wait until the end of the sopho-
more year to choose a major, it may be diffcult to complete a degree in four years.
Advanced Placement Credit and the Sample Degree Plans
Many entering freshmen come to Rice with substantial advanced placement course
credit, particularly in math, physics and chemistry. Talk with your divisional adviser
and the instructors in the relevant courses if necessary, to determine whether your
background has prepared you for more advanced courses at Rice. The sample
degree plans in this booklet assume that you have no AP or transfer credit. Each
sample is also only one of many possible schedules. Talk with your divisional adviser
and a department academic adviser if necessary, to begin developing a degree plan
that fts your situation and goals.
Freshman Writing Intensive Seminars
Unlike all other courses at Rice, you are assigned a specifc semester in which to
take a freshman writing intensive seminar (FWIS). Therefore, if you plan to pursue an
engineering major, you need to carefully consider these courses during registration to
make sure that you are able to get into a section that does not have a time confict
with courses that are required for your major.
In all of the sample schedules throughout this book, the FWIS course is listed in the fall
of the freshman year and there is at least one distribution course listed in the spring of
the freshman year. If you are assigned to take an FWIS in the spring, you should swap
the semesters of the FWIS and a distribution course in the freshman year. For further
information about the FWIS requirements, please visit http://pwc.rice.edu/.
Selecting Courses in the Major
You will see on many of the degree summaries that you often have choices for
courses. For example, a degree may require physics, but allow you to choose either
PHYS 101 or PHYS 111. Several of the sample plans or degree summaries note
these choices so that you are aware of your options. Sometimes a department will
specify a preferred course, sometimes not. Consult other department advising
materials and/or talk to the department advisers for more information.
International Engineering
Every department in the School of Engineering strongly encourages its students to incor-
porate international experiences into their education at Rice. Academic advisers in your
department can help you determine appropriate course work for study abroad and the
Offce of Study Abroad can help make arrangements. See abroad.rice.edu.
Many opportunities for international experiences are available through Engineers Without
Borders (ewb.rice.edu) and Rice 360º Institute for Global Health (rice360.rice.edu/). If you
are interested in making a difference in people’s lives through these organizations, see
their websites for more information.
Rice Center for Engineering Leadership
The difference between a “really smart” and a “leading” engineer is the ability to create and
communicate a shared vision, build a high performing team, develop and execute shared
plans, create innovations that endure, and make ethical decisions. RCEL’s Certifcate in
Engineering Leadership will set you apart from your peers. You’ll get an introduction to
engineering leadership in ENGI 140, focusing on learning personal strengths, motivations,
and aspirations as leaders. Acquire hands-on experience leading a team through engi-
neering challenges in ENGI 218/219. Then learn how to interview for and land industry or
research internships, and learn state-of-the-art practices for leading teams and innovation
in ENGI 315. To learn more about RCEL and the Certifcate in Engineering Leadership go
to http://rcel.rice.edu.
3
DESCRIPTION OF MAJORS
OFFERED BY DEPARTMENTS
Bioengineering
The overall goal of the B.S. degree in
Bioengineering (B.S.B) is to prepare gradu-
ates to succeed in professional careers by
equipping them with the conceptual and
technical expertise sought after by top
graduate and medical schools, as well as
companies seeking technical skills in bio-
engineering. Recognizing that graduates
may embark on a number of different edu-
cational and career paths, the educational
objectives that graduates are expected to
exhibit or achieve with the B.S.B from Rice
University are:
1. Graduates demonstrate technical and/
or professional skills, which may include
engineering problem-solving, scientifc
inquiry, and/or engineering design, to solve
challenging problems in bioengineering and
related felds.
2. Graduates are accomplished at com-
municating and working collaboratively in
diverse work environments.
3. Graduates seeking further education at
graduate, medical or other professional
schools fnd appropriate levels of success in
admission to and progression through these
programs. Graduates entering professional
careers fnd appropriate career progression
and success.
Chemical and Civil and
Biomolecular Engineering Environmental Engineering
Our department offers two undergraduate The oldest of the recognized “disciplines” in
degrees: the Bachelor of Science in Chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineer-
Engineering (B.S.Ch.E) and Bachelor of Arts ing addresses a broad range of current issues
(B.A.) degree. Only the program leading to the related to materials, computational mechan-
B.S. degree in Bioengineering is accredited ics, urban systems, smart structures and
by the Engineering Accreditation Commission infrastructure, water, energy, pollution, risks,
(EAC) of ABET, www.abet.org. disasters and sustainability. At Rice, CEE
offers a choice among four educational foci:
In today’s rapidly changing business cli-
Environmental engineering, hydrology and
mate, industrial sectors from petrochemicals
water resources, structural engineering and
to biotechnology and semiconductor manu-
mechanics, and urban infrastructure,
facturing offer a wide variety of employment
reliability and management.
opportunities to our graduates. As a result,
chemical engineering graduates may get CEE prepares leaders who can deal with
involved with (among others): present and future technical and societal
problems. We provide a rigorous, coher-
• the development of new processes and
ent curriculum from which students gain an
products for the chemical industry;
understanding of the physical, mathematical,
• exploration, production and refning chemical and biological, as well as socio-
of oil and natural gas; economic systems that affect engineering
• design and optimization of fabrication facili- research and practice. We emphasize design
ties for semiconductors or magnetic storage and the development of professional commu-
devices; nication skills and strategies, especially those
requiring collaboration and teamwork.
• production of advanced materials
from plastics and fbers to catalysts and Our internship program places students
biomaterials; in companies throughout Houston and the
U.S. To prepare for the global workplace, we
• design of water and air pollution
offer international service learning experiences
control devices;
that focus on solving complex engineering
• production of pharmaceuticals and biologic problems in diverse cultural situations. For
devices for medical applications. example, you may want to become involved
with Rice’s nationally recognized chapter of
Although industry employs the majority Engineers Without Borders, a student-run
of chemical engineering students receiv- organization that works to bring sustain-
ing a bachelor’s degree, a large fraction of able technologies to developing regions of
our graduates continue their education in the world like Central and South America.
graduate schools to prepare for academic or The educational experience in CEE is fun
industrial R&D careers, and in medical, law and unique because of its strong emphasis
or business schools. on student leadership and its integration of
undergraduate education with cutting-edge
research.
5
Computational and
Applied Mathematics
Our graduates have enjoyed an excellent modern life, a computer science degree can
job market for decades and can expect to lead to many diverse careers. We develop
be hired in engineering consulting, govern- tools that enable felds such as scientifc
ment, regulatory agencies, industry and, with simulation, fnancial market analysis, medical
advanced degrees, academia. imaging and robotic exploration.
In the CAAM undergraduate program,
students learn to apply the advanced tech- Electrical and Computer
niques needed to model and analyze complex
Engineering
physical systems. The curriculum provides a
sound grounding in underlying mathemati- Electrical and computer engineering (ECE) is
cal theory, emphasizes a variety of useful the creation, innovation and design of tech-
mathematical techniques, and helps students nologies in computing, communications,
develop profciency in computational modeling electronics and automation. ECE is at the
and high performance computing. Graduates crossroads of hardware and software—the
with degrees in computational and applied integration of these tools to create better,
mathematics are in demand in industry, gov- faster, safer technologies for things like cars,
ernment and academia, where they often aircraft, computers, smartphones and surgical
join with physical and biological scientists, robots. We invent and develop technologies
engineers, and computer scientists to form and devices for the betterment of humanity.
teams. Such interdisciplinary teams represent ECE’s fexible programs educate
the modern approach to dealing with complex engineers and scientists to be leaders in
problems whose solutions require mathemati- academia, industry and government. ECE
cal and scientifc skills. graduates go on to work in almost every feld
imaginable, including healthcare, energy, law,
Computer Science
the space industry, entertainment and secu-
An education in computer science includes rity. The opportunities are broad; the major
training in systems design, implementation has many avenues for interdisciplinary learn-
(i.e., programming), mathematics, and the ing and collaboration.
analysis of algorithms, systems and prob- Undergraduates are encouraged to
lems. A computer scientist must understand participate in research by contacting ECE
what can be computed, what can be com- faculty directly or through the Vertically
puted quickly, and what can be built. The Integrated Projects (VIP) program. Summer
undergraduate computer science curriculum internship opportunities are available in ECE
at Rice includes a core set of courses that labs, with our industrial affliates, and through
teach skills common to all areas in computer the Nakatani RIES Fellowship Program.
science, as well as specialized courses that At Rice, ECE faculty rewire and study
delve more deeply into specifc areas such as the brain to combat Parkinson’s, epilepsy
artifcial intelligence, bioinformatics, computer and PTSD. They build lensless cameras,
architecture, databases, graphics, networking, explore oil reservoirs, and bring wireless
programming language design and imple- technology to the underserved. They push
mentation, physical algorithms, security and the state-of-the-art in national security,
verifcation. We welcome students with little or healthcare, data science, photonics, neu-
no programming experience. Computer sci- ral engineering, communications and laser
ence requires the ability to think clearly and spectroscopy.
analytically; we can teach you the rest.
With computing integrated into every facet of